The relationship between implied and realized volatility : evidence from the Australian stock index option market

This paper examines the relationship between the volatility implied in option prices and the subsequently realized volatility by using the S&P/ASX 200 index options (XJO) traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) during a period of 5 years. Unlike stock index options such as the S&P 100 index options in the US market, the S&P/ASX 200 index options are traded infrequently and in low volumes, and have a long maturity cycle. Thus an errors-in-variables problem for measurement of implied volatility is more likely to exist. After accounting for this problem by instrumental variable method, it is found that both call and put implied volatilities are superior to historical volatility in forecasting future realized volatility. Moreover, implied call volatility is nearly an unbiased forecast of future volatility.

The role of the internet on international market growth of Australian firms : an exploratory study

The Internet has been shown to positively influence the internationalisation activities of firms through enhanced information, knowledge and network development. Although there has been evidence of a positive impact of the Internet on internationalisation process components, it is vague as to whether the Internet has an impact on firm international market growth. This paper examines the role of the Internet in the outward internationalisation of a cross-national sample of 224 firms from Australia. The results show evidence that a there is a link between Internet usage, Internet intensity and the international market growth of the firm. The findings indicate that firms are using Internet technologies beyond simple e-mail and websites in their international marketing. For example, Internet directories and Internet market spaces are assisting international market expansion of the firm. Firms are integrating the Internet into international marketing processes such as advertising, marketing, market research and international market management as well as in data transference between company and supplier and company and customer. Further, there is evidence in this study of the statistical relationships between the use of website, e-mail and online sales with the international market growth of the firm.

The life-cycle of the fashion garment and the role of Australian mass market designers

This paper uses the lens of life-cycle thinking to discuss recent developments in the Australian mass market fashion industry, and to explore the opportunities and barriers to implementing lifecycle thinking within mass market design processes. Life-cycle analysis is a quantitative tool used to assess the environmental impact of a material or product. However the underlying thinking of life-cycle analysis can also be employed more generally, enabling a designer to assess their processes and design decisions for sustainability. A fashion designer employing life cycle thinking would consider every stage in the life of a garment from fibre and textiles through to consumer use, to eventual disposal and beyond disposal to reuse and later disassembly for fibre recycling. Although life-cycle thinking is rarely considered in the design processes of the fast-paced, price-driven mass market, this paper explores its potential and suggests ways in which it could be implemented.

Frantic fashion and Australia’s invisible designers : conversations on sustainability in the mass market

The majority of Australians will work, sleep and die in the garments of the mass market. Yet, as Ian Griffiths has termed it, the designers of these garments are ‘invisible’ (2000). To the general public, the values, opinions and individual design processes of these designers are as unknown as their names. However, the designer’s role is crucial in making decisions which will have impacts throughout the life of the garment. The high product volume within the mass market ensures that even a small decision in the design process to source a particular fabric, or to use a certain trim or textile finish, can have a profound environmental or social effect. While big companies in Australia have implemented some visible strategies for sustainability, it is uncertain how these may have flowed through to design practices. To explore this question, this presentation will discuss preliminary findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews with Australian mass market fashion designers and product developers. The aim of the interviews was to hear the voice of the insider – to listen to mass market designers describe their design process, discuss the Australian fashion industry and its future challenges and opportunities, and to comment on what a ‘sustainability’ for their industry could look like. These interviews will be discussed within the framework of design philosopher Tony Fry’s writing on design redirection for sustainability.

The knock-on from the knock-off : recent shifts within Australian mass market fashion design practice

Australia’s mass market fashion labels have traditionally benefitted from their peripheral location to the world’s fashion centres. Operating a season behind, Australian mass market designers and buyers were well-placed to watch trends play out overseas before testing them in the Australian marketplace. For this reason, often a designer’s role was to source and oversee the manufacture of ‘knock-offs’, or close copies of Northern hemisphere mass market garments. Both Weller (2007) and Walsh (2009) have commented on this practice. The knock-on effect from this continues to be a cautious, derivative fashion sensibility within Australian mass market fashion design, where any new trend or product is first tested and proved overseas months earlier. However, there is evidence that this is changing. The rapid online dissemination of global fashion trends, coupled with the Australian consumer’s willingness to shop online, has meant that the ‘knock-off’ is less viable. For this reason, a number of mass market companies are moving away from the practice of direct sourcing and are developing product in-house under a Northern hemisphere model. This shift is also witnessed in the trend for mass market companies to develop collections in partnership with independent Australian designers. This paper explores the current and potential effects of these shifts within Australian mass market design practice, and discusses how they may impact on designers, consumers and on the wider culture of Australian fashion.

Individuals in a mass market environment: Australian bequest donors seek better communication from charities

Swelling social need and competing calls on government funds have heightened the philanthropic dollar’s value. Yet, Australia is not regarded as having a robust giving culture: while 86% of adults give, a mere 16% plan their giving with those who do donating four times as much as spontaneous givers (Giving Australia, 2005). Traditionally, the prime planned giving example is a charitable bequest, a revenue stream not prevalent here (Baker, 2007). In fact, Baker’s Victorian probate data shows under 5% of estates provide a charitable bequest and just over 1% of estate assets is bequeathed. The UK, in contrast, sources 30% and the US 10% of charitable income through bequests (NCVO, 2004; Sargeant, Wymer and Hilton,2006). Australian charities could boost bequest giving. Understanding the donor market, which has or may remember them in their will is critical. This paper reports donor perceptions of Australian charities’ bequest communication/ marketing. The data forms part of a wider study of Australian donors’ bequest attitudes and behaviour. Charities spend heavily on bequest promotion, from advertising to personal selling to public relations and promotion. Infrastructure funds are scarce so guidance on what works for donors is important. Guy and Patton (1988) made their classic call for a nonprofit marketing perspective and identify the need for charities to better understand the motivations and behaviour of their supporters. In similar vein, this study aims to improve the way nonprofits and givers interact; and ultimately, enhance the giving experience and thus multiply planned giving participation. Academically, it offers insights to Australian bequest motivations and attitudes not studied empirically before.

Arts and creative industries : a historical overview; and an Australian conversation

Australia should seek new and liberating ways to bring together the arts, popular culture and the creative industries, according to Arts and creative industries. The report, funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and prepared by Professor Justin O’Connor of the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology, looks at ways in which the policy relationship between these often polarised sectors of arts and creative industries might be re-thought and approached more productively. The report is in two parts, commencing with An Australian conversation, in which Professor O’Connor, with Stuart Cunningham and Luke Jaaniste, document a series of in depth interviews with 18 leading practitioners across the creative industries. They discuss their perceptions of the similarities, differences and connections between the arts and creative industries. The interviews frequently returned to the fundamental question of what was meant by ‘art’ and ‘creative industries’. The second, larger part of Arts and creative industries, addresses this question through an extensive review of the discussions of art and its relation to society and culture over the last few centuries. A historical overview highlights the importance that art has had in developing our comprehension of the modern world. It also examines the enthusiasm for the creative industries over the last 15 years or so and the impact this has had on creative policy-making. Arts and creative industries suggests there is no dividing line between publicly-funded arts, popular culture and the blossoming businesses of the creative sector – and national policy should reflect this. This study was commissioned by the Australia Council as part of a long-running and productive relationship between the council and the ARC Centre of Excellence on Creative Industries and Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology.

Community participation in the development of digital radio : the Australian experience

The participation of the community broadcasting sector in the development of digital radio provides a potentially valuable opportunity for non-market, end user-driven experimentation in the development of these new services in Australia. However this development path is constrained by various factors, some of which are specific to the community broadcasting sector and others that are generic to the broader media and communications policy, industrial and technological context. This paper filters recent developments in digital radio policy and implementation through the perspectives of community radio stakeholders, obtained through interviews, to describe and analyse these constraints. The early stage of digital community radio presented here is intended as a baseline for tracking the development of the sector as digital radio broadcasting develops. We also draw upon insights from scholarly debates about citizens media and participatory culture to identify and discuss two sets of opportunities for social benefit that are enabled by the inclusion of community radio in digital radio service development. The first arises from community broadcasting’s involvement in the propagation of the multi-literacies that drive new digital economies, not only through formal and informal multi- and trans-media training, but also in the ‘co-creative’ forms of collaborative and participatory media production that are fostered in the sector. The second arises from the fact that community radio is uniquely placed — indeed charged with the responsibility — to facilitate social participation in the design and operation of media institutions themselves, not just their service outputs.

Explaining Pathe's global dominance in the pre-Hollywood film industry

For almost a decade before Hollywood existed, French firm Pathe towered over the early film industry with estimates of its share of all films sold around the world varying between 50-70%. This paper analyses Pathe’s rise to market leadership by applying a theoretical framework drawn from the business literature on causes of industry dominance, that provides insights into how firms acquire and maintain market dominance. This paper uses evidence presented by film historians to argue that Pathe “fits” the expected theoretical model of the dominant firm because it had a marketing orientation, used an effective quality- based competitive strategy and possessed the six critical strategic marketing capabilities that business research shows enable the best performing firms to consistently outperform rivals.